Watch: Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier takes down mascot with massive body slam at a Houston Rockets game
The Houston Rockets hosted the Toronto Raptors at the Toyota Center on Thursday night. Despite how poor the Rockets have been this season, there were a few celebrities in the crowd, including former two-division UFC champion and Rockets fan Daniel Cormier.
During a break in the game, Cormier got into it with the Rockets mascot Clutch. The UFC legend proceeded to punch Clutch in the stomach before lifting the poor mascot and delivering a powerful body slam on the court.
You can watch the video below.
Daniel Cormier is not from Houston, but he grew up as a fan of the Rockets. He's from Louisiana, and the New Orleans Pelicans were not yet a team back then. He chose the Rockets over the Atlanta Hawks when he was a kid. Cormier now lives in San Francisco, but still supports the Houston Rockets.
However, Cormier has a reputation for being a bandwagon fan, and he admitted to being one in an interview with Complex. The 42-year-old retired MMA fighter noted that he embraces being a bandwagon sports fan.
"People hate it. Like it's my thing. People absolutely hate it. When the Warriors won the first one, I found the picture of Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, and I said, 'Tonight, we do it for the old guard.' The diehard Warriors fans and people lost their minds," Cormier said.
Houston Rockets get blown out by Toronto Raptors, endure fourth straight loss
The Houston Rockets lost their fourth game in a row on Thursday night after getting blown out by the Toronto Raptors 139-120. The Rockets have lost eight of their last ten games, and own the third-worst record in the NBA and the worst record in the Western Conference at 15-40.
In Thursday's loss, the Rockets were a bit short-handed after making a few moves at the trade deadline. Kevin Porter Jr. had a huge game with 30 points, three rebounds and eight assists. Meanwhile, Christian Wood added 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
"We've been starting games off pretty good; our energy's been very good. But the growing pains that we have are evident at key points of the game," Houston head coach Stephen Silas said after the game.
Meanwhile, the Raptors were led by Gary Trent Jr. with 42 points, four assists and five steals. Pascal Siakam added 30 points, three rebounds and four assists to extend Toronto's winning streak to eight games. The Raptors have emerged as one of the surprising teams this season.
Meanwhile, for the Rockets, they will have to let their young players such as Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Josh Christopher and Kevin Porter Jr. to play together more often to develop chemistry, as they are the team's cornerstones.
It does not get any easier for the Rockets, as a three-game road trip against the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and LA Clippers lie next.